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Thanks guys. If and when (probably more "when" than "if"), I now at least know to find a plumber that is set up for pex, and have some ideas on what I would ask him to do during the repairs. Hopefully I'll be able to keep the critters out, or can entice a king snake to take up residence (which would also keep out copperheads). Of course, I would have to evict him if I invite a plumber over!

Anymore, if a plumber is'nt "set up" for Pex he's not a plumber. And, there's not much "setting up" involved, lol, you go to the supply house, buy your expanders/crimpers/etc, get the fittings and pipe and get to the job. Criminy.

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So while I've got your attention, I have a couple more questions, if you can indulge me:
The house as built also has no zone shutoffs (i.e. the only valves after the street are the ones at the sink/toilet/icemaker risers.) When Mr Rat chews thru the pex, I'll be shutting down the whole house 'til its fixed, so I might as well have some shutoffs installed.
Should they be anchored to the floor joists? (My gut feel says yes but I know some of the PVC ball valves are light enough that they wouldn't strain the line, at least not until you tried to close it).
What would be the best type of valve to use to transition to the pex, or are they already making pex compatible ones?

At this point I am not contemplating doing this myself. The reality, tho, is that most of the work I see being done around here (mainly new construction) is being accomplished by non- English speaking people with very little oversight from the licensed supervisors. (I'm trying to teach myself Spanish, but I have enough trouble communicating in English, so its probably a lost cause, especially for technical jargon). Some of the work is outstanding and some is ..not.. Being new to the area, it will pretty much be a crapshoot as to how qualified the person/company I hire really is. If there are problems, I prefer to address them as the work is being done, rather than spending even more money and time on lawyers who are probably more incompetent than the tradesmen, anyway.

Even if you don't answer, thanks for all the previous info. Before I moved here I didn't know what pex was and had never seen it. I now have it (about 300' of it under the house) and see the concerns about heat cycling and rodents, etc. At this point I don't even know if the water here is aggressive to copper or not (the only copper I have now is the first 5 or so feet to and from the water heater), but I'm trying to prepare myself for the inevitable.

Thanx

Practicing at practical wood working

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Norcal, I would never dream of doubting your first hand experience with rodents and pex, but I'm very curious as to whether this is something you or anyone else encounters commonly or if you would call it an anomaly. I install quite a bit of pex and can certainly understand the concern about rodents, but I've never come across this sort of rodent damage. I've seen a lot of talk about the potential for this problem on this and other forums but to the best of my recollection, you are the first I've come across to have actually encountered this problem. If you don't mind, I wish you, and anyone else who has actually experienced the problem, would be a little more descriptive of what you've seen.

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Norcal, I would never dream of doubting your first hand experience with rodents and pex, but I'm very curious as to whether this is something you or anyone else encounters commonly or if you would call it an anomaly. I install quite a bit of pex and can certainly understand the concern about rodents, but I've never come across this sort of rodent damage. I've seen a lot of talk about the potential for this problem on this and other forums but to the best of my recollection, you are the first I've come across to have actually encountered this problem. If you don't mind, I wish you, and anyone else who has actually experienced the problem, would be a little more descriptive of what you've seen.

I've only personally come across a pex leak, caused by rodents, one time. I've talked to other contractors and they have shared similar stories. Having said that, keep in mind that in my area pex is in maybe 1 in a 1,000 homes, if that many. So IMO its just a matter of time before the newer homes that are having pex installed will have an "epidemic" of leaks due to rodents if installation techniques aren't changed.

I have personally seen where rodents have chewed into other plastic piping...they are extremely tough and persistent little creatures!

I'm attaching a picture of 2" ABS drain pipe that was chewed through by a rat. As you know, ABS is a whole lot tougher to chew through than pex!

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I was ready to make the pex plunge and decided against it. I don't wan't to roll the dice with possible rat damage. I own more tool than most.
when i look at the price they wan't for the top end expanders, I know this is price gouging. This pisses me off, so screw them! I'll stick with copper.

Be well Tool

I can build anything You want , if you draw a picture of it , on the back of a big enough check .

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OK, my two cents. I’ve been using Wirsbo for about nine years now. I’ve never experienced rodent problems. What kind of creatures are you all dealing with? They sound like a R.O.U.S (Rodents of Unusual Size).

Why use any Wirsbo tool but the hand operated? Come on! Let’s build them pecs! There’s nothing like pumping one inch pex in a cold basement for a good workout.

One of the best lessons I learned from my father is when he did nothing to help me. I then learned to help my self.

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Speaking of Wirsbo, I was on a project last week when I noticed a repair truck in front of one of our clients homes. When I went to investigate I found the house was flooded. It turns out he had his hot water rerouted overhead last year and one of the fittings in the truss ceiling pulled apart. A few days later while I was inspected the GWB interface with the nailing flange of the hall bathtub I noticed a second leak which appeared to be coming from the body of the pipe. I was a little surprise to see two Wirsbo failures in one house.

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2 weeks ago I was called out to a job....new construction....where the contractor had walked off the job because over half of the angle stops he installed on Wirsbo Pex were leaking and he couldn't stop the leaks.

I managed to stop the leaks, but for awhile it looked like I was going to have to open up some walls...

I have a feeling that pex is gonna keep my service and repair business very busy in the coming years.